A large portion of the century-old former Budd Wheel plant on Detroit's east side was imploded early Saturday morning to expand a new vehicle shipping logistics hub adjacent to FCA US LLC's Jefferson North Assembly Plant.

Crown Enterprises Inc., the real estate development arm of billionaire trucking mogul Manuel "Matty" Moroun's companies, had two sections of the old factory totaling 300,000 square feet blown up at 6:30 a.m. as part of the demolition of the entire 2.1 million-square-foot factory.

Matthew Moroun, president of his family's logistics and shipping company, said Crown Enterprises tore down the building to make room for more Fiat Chrysler vehicles to be stored and shipped by truck or rail on an adjacent Norfolk Southern rail yard.

Fiat Chrysler will be able to expand car shipping at the facility for vehicles not only assembled at Jefferson North, but other plants in the region, Moroun said.

Moroun company associates, employees from the demolition company 21st Century Salvage Inc. and other onlookers gathered early Saturday morning on the Mack Avenue railroad bridge to watch the implosion of a portion of a factory that dates back to 1917.

Marc Brazeau, the head of vehicle logistics for FCA, also was on hand for the factory implosion.

Crown Enterprises has been operating a vehicle shipping logistics center for FCA in the original parking lots of the old auto parts plant, which Troy-based ThyssenKrupp Budd Co. shuttered in 2006, eliminating 350 jobs.

Dodge Durangos and Jeep Grand Cherokees, which are assembled at Jefferson North, were covered in plastic in the parking lot along Mack Avenue on the property to protect them from the small dust cloud that the implosion created.

Michael Samhat, president of Crown Enterprises, said all but a couple of small buildings on the Charlevoix Street site are being torn down to make room for the expanded automotive logistics center.

"There's going to be a lot of improvements to the site to serve the automotive client," Samhat told Crain's.

In the past, Fiat Chrysler has had to ship vehicles by car-hauler to a railyard in Toledo and then load them onto trains.

The Moroun-owned Crown Enterprises is spending more than $10 million for demolition and redevelopment of the site, Samhat said.

"It's transformational," Moroun said.

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Crews are imploding 300,000 square feet of factory on Charlevoix Street on Detroit's east side.

Machine demolition of other parts of the factory began about three months ago. Explosives were needed to take out the two buildings within the "super structure" of the facility, Samhat said.

"They're mostly cement," he said.

Warren-based Crown Enterprises has owned the building for nine years, Samhat said.

"Over the years, we've tried to find ways to repurpose the building and just couldn't find the right opportunity," he said.

Crown Enterprises' redevelopment of the Budd plant is the second logistics facility the company has built for one of Detroit's automakers in the past two years.

In 2015, Crown Enterprises built a 500,000-square-foot warehouse in the I-94 Industrial Park for sorting and delivering auto parts to General Motors Co.'s Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant.

With greater downtown Detroit getting all of the attention for revitalization these days, Samhat said the Budd plant project is the "second component of the recovery of Detroit."

"These things take time to transform these sites, but this is good for Detroit," he said.

The City of Detroit has issued a permit for the implosion of a portion of the factory complex, which Budd Wheel bought from the former Liberty Motor Co. in 1924, according to the city's buildings and safety department.